“It is very important to have a command over the medium you write”

says TR Bhanot, an acclaimed children books author, in conversation with Varsha Verma.

Well-known children book author TR Bhanot’s main USP is script and correct English. Hailing from a family of farmers in Punjab, Bhanot is a self-made man. He has done post graduation in English and has done honours in Physics, Maths and Urdu. He is former head of language department at Air force School in Delhi. He has worked for publishers like Arya Book Depot, Children Book Trust, Scholar Publishing House, Frank Bros and Dreamland Publications.

On languages…

T R Bhanot“English Grammar is my favourite subject,” he says. “I authored a set of English Grammar books in late 80s which are still prescribed as textbooks in north-east states.” Bhanot also writes in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi. He also knows Sanskrit and Persian but does not have good writing capability in these languages. “Overall, I have authored 1000+ titles till now. Of these, 100 were authored while I was myself a student. I have confidence on my abilities and work on ethics,” he tells. He also writes Urdu Ghazals and checks PhD theses from various universities for language correction.

Association with Dreamland…

Talking about his association with Dreamland, Bhanot shares that he joined Dreamland in 1986 and has authored around 500 titles for them. “This is like my second home. All my needs are fulfilled with honour and respect and I work here without any tension in my mind,” he shares.

“Eighteen years back, when computer was introduced, Bhanot authored a set of eight computer books of 48 pages each, without any prior knowledge of computers and these books were bestsellers at that time,” adds Ved Chawla of Dreamland Publications.

On subjects…

Though Mathematics, Science and English are his favourite subjects, he also loves to write fiction and religious books. “I have authored Krishan Leela, Mahabharata, Panchtantra, etc after studying old text in Sanskrit. These were written on demand from Indians abroad who wish to know more about their civilization. But, it was not easy. Since I have a scientific mind, I got stuck at many points where facts and analysis did not match. So, I researched it further so that I put across facts that deem logical,” he shares. “When I write, it is logical. My next sentence takes birth from the previous sentence.”

On academic books…

Bhanot is seriously concerned about the quality of educational books available today. “Many publishers get content compiled from multiple sources and present it in the form of a book, which is not right. I have also seen publishers who limit the authors with the number of pages. In such a scenario, the quality of the books suffers,” he points out.

Another very important thing he feels is that whatever subject one writes, one needs to have a command of the language that is the medium of the particular book. “Last but not the least, everything should be logical,” he says.

On success…

A God-fearing person, Bhanot attributes all his success to God and as he puts it, “I am a play thing in the hands of destiny. I owe all my success to Goddess Saraswati.”

Adding further, he says, “The credit for my English language base goes to my Muslim headmaster Maulvi Mohd Iqbal Hussain, who I remember even today. Many heroes die unsung, but I am fortunate to have found a strong foothold at Dremland Publications, which has helped my name spread all over.”

Epic! signs deal with Macmillan Publishers

Epic!, the leading children’s eBook subscription service, has announced an agreement with Macmillan Publishers, one of the world’s foremost English-language publishers, to deliver award-winning children’s eBooks to the company’s fast-growing service.

Epic! offers thousands of high-quality fiction and nonfiction books for kids 12 and under. Partnerships with leading publishers, such as Macmillan, bring age-appropriate, highquality, award-winning books to children’s fingertips. Every book on Epic! is curated by a team of children’s book experts, and Epic!’s proprietary recommendation algorithms help young readers discover new books they will love. The partnership makes hundreds of Macmillan titles available as part of Epic!’s monthly subscription service. Included in the books selected by Macmillan and Epic! are popular titles such as “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?,” “Tikki Tikki Tembo,” and “The Book of Three.”

“The addition of Macmillan to our growing list of exceptional publishers is an exciting milestone for our company,” said Kevin Donahue, Co-Founder of Epic! “Our goal is to provide the premier digital reading platform for children and these wonderful titles will be very popular with our readers.”